Selvage-edge roofing-and-insulation product and method of manufacture



3,488,248 LATION PRODUCT UFACTURE Jan. 6, 1970 E. G. LON SELVAG-E-EDGEROOFING-AND-I AND METHOD OF Filed Dec MAN w M mmm m mL/w ///wm m m, I wM E 6 Y B United States Patent US. Cl. 161-117 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Insulation along an edge of a roof product comprising alaminate of insulation and roof membrane material is adapted to bebroken away and removed in the field to permit the remainingcorresponding portion of membrane to be used in forming a lap joint withan adjacent laminate. The insulation before being removed protects theselvage edge of the membrane.

This invention relates to a combined roof insulation and roof membranelaminate of the type wherein the membrane extends beyond one side edgeof the insulation material to permit a lap joint to be formed betweenadjacent laminates. More particularly, this invention relates to such acombined laminate wherein the selvage or extending edge portion of themembrane is protected from damage during handling and shipping. Thisinvention further relates to a method of manufacturing such a combinedlaminate.

It is well known to provide roofing products with a selvage edge portionso that the edge of an adjacent roofing member can be overlapped to forma watertight lap joint. A lap joint is often preferred over a butt jointsince the latter type of joint requires that the abutting edges ofadjacent roof members be taped to make the joint waterproof. Thisprocedure not only requires additional material but also increases theinstallation time of the roof covering, thus increasing the overall costof the roof. It is also known to provide combination roof insulation androof membrane laminates with a selvage edge portion. With this type ofcombined product, the edge portions of adjacent layers of insulationmaterials are abutted and the selvage or extending roof membrane portionoverlies the adjacent laminate to form a lap joint.

One objection to this type of arrangement, however, is that theprojecting unsupported portion of the roof membrane material is subjectto damage during manufacture, packaging, shipping and installation.Moreover, when workmen attempt to install laminates regardless of slightdamage which might have occurred to the projecting portion of themembrane during shipping and unpackaging, an imperfect lap joint maywell result. paving the way for possible subsequent roof failure.Furthermore, if all of the combined roof insulation and roof membranelaminates have undamaged selvage edges, the installation of the membersis greatly facilitated, thereby further decreasing the time ofinstallation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a combinedroof insulation and roof membrane laminate having a selvage edgeportion, that is, a portion of the roof membrane material projectingbeyond the adjacent edge of the insulation material, which portion isprotected during manufacture and subsequent handling thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cornbination roofinsulation and roof membrane laminate with a support for the selvageedge, which support is easily removable in the field.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensivemethod of manufacturing a combined roof insulation and roof membranelaminate having a protected selvage edge portion.

Another object is to provide a method of manufacturing such a productwhich utilizes a foamed insulation material.

The above objects are satisfied by the present invention which, brieflydescribed, comprises a flexible waterproof membrane, insulating materialadhered to the membrane adjacent one edge portion thereof by arelatively weak bond, and insulating material adhered to the membraneover the remainder thereof by a relatively strong bond. This arrangementenables a worker in the field to readily separate the insulationmaterial from the roof membrane at the edge portion where the bond isrelatively weak, thereby permitting that portion of the membrane whichis adapted to be the selvage edge portion to be protected and supportedduring manufacture and subsequent handling. To further facilitateremoval of the insulation material at the selvage edge portion, it maybe manufactured so that it is completely separate from the rest of theinsulation or it may be connected thereto by a relatively weakconnection adapted to be easily broken by hand.

The invention provides for the manufacture of this combined roofinsulation and roof membrane product in a simple, efficient manner. Bythe process of manufacture, described more fully hereinafter, theinsulation is laminated and bonded to the membrane in varying strengthsin a single operation. Further, the step of separating the insulationmaterial at the selvage portion, to assist the workmen in the field toseparate the edge portion of the insulation, can be accomplished at thesame time that the edges of the laminate are trimmed to size.

The nature of the invention will be more fully understood and otherobjects may become apparent when the following detailed description isconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial pictorial representation of a combination roofinsulation and roof membrane member;

FIG. 2 is a partial pictorial representation of a lap joint formed oftwo combination roof insulation and roof membrane members;

FIG. 3 is a partial transverse section of the combined roof insulationand roof membrane member of the present invention, showing the selvageedge portion of the roof membrane with the roof insulation materialsupporting it and being only weakly connected to the remaininginsulation material;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, but showing the protectinginsulation material separated from the remainder of the insulationmaterial;

FIG. 5 is a partial transverse view similar to that f FIG. 3, butshowing a modification of the combined roof insulation and membranemember;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a manufacturing operation forproducing the laminate of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the diagrammatic representation of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a combined roof insulation and roofmembrane member, indicated generally at 10, comprises a layer ofinsulation material 12 laminated to a roof membrane 14.-Such laminatesare known in the art and may be comprised of various materials. Forexample, the insulating material is usually comprised of low densityfibrous or foamed material while the roof membrane material is flexibleand waterproof and adapted to be readily laminated to the insulationmaterial.

As shown in FIG. 2,.a lap joint 16 is a preferred type of joint for easeof installation and for providing a strong,

waterproof joint. In this illustration, insulation layers 18 and 20 oflaminates 22 and 24, respectively, are abutted as indicated at 26. Themembrane of laminate 24 termlnates at the edge of insulating layer 20while the membrane terminates a substantial distance beyond the edge ofits insulating layer 18. By extending membrane 30 of the laminate 22over the membrane a lap joint 16 is formed, thus completely covering theabutting edges of insulating layers 20 and 18 and obviating anynecessity for taping of the joints.

One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 3, whichshows a roofing laminate 32 having a selvage edge portion 34 protectedand supported by insulation material. The laminate 32 is comprised ofinsulation material 36 laminated to a roof membrane 38, the edge portion34 thereof adapted to be a selvage edge for overlapping the abuttingside edge of a similar laminate when installed on the roof. Theinsulating material 36 is shown as being comprised of a foamedinsulating material such as, for example, foamed polyurethane. Althoughfoamed insulating material is preferred due to its excellent insulatingqualities, its strength and low density, and the ease with which it canbe manufactured and laminated to a roof membrane, the laminate of thepresent invention is by no means limited to such foamed material but canutilize other types of insulating material as well. As previouslystated, the roof membrane material may be any flexible waterproofmembrane adapted to be laminated to the insulating material andpreferably, one which is readily commercially available. Examples ofeconomically feasible, commercial materials which are well suited forthis use are neoprene and polyisobutylene films.

The major portion of the insulating material 36 is bonded to themembrane 38 by a relatively strong bond capable of maintaining theinsulation adhered to the membrane and resisting separation of thelaminate materials by hand. The portion 40 of the insulating materialunderlying the selvage edge portion 34 of the membrane is bonded to themembrane by a relatively weak bond, that is, one which can be readilybroken by hand. Although other methods might well be suggested to thoseskilled in the art, one manner of providing a relatively weak bond isthrough use of a paper or other membrane 42 which is adhered to theinsulation portion 40 by about the same bonding strength as thatexhibited in the bond between the insulation portion 36 and the membrane38, but which is only weakly adhered to the membrane portion 34. Thisreadily can be accomplished by coating the side of the paper or membrane42 in contact with the membrane portion 34 with a relatively weakpressure sensitive adhesive, so that the resulting bond between thepaper 42 and the membrane portion 34 can easily be separated by hand. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the insulation material is provided with a slot44 which extends almost completely through the thickness of theinsulation layer but terminates just short of the membrane 38. The slot44 preferably is located in a plane substantially in alignment with theinner edge of the paper or membrane 42 so that when the workman in thefield breaks the small connecting portion of insulation material at 46and separates the insulation material 40 from the remainder of theinsulation layer 36, the structure illustrated in FIG. 4 will result.

While it is preferred that a small or weak connecting link between theinsulation material underlying the selvage portion 34 of the membrane 38be provided for assurance that the insulating material 40 will remain inplace and will perform its intended function until removed in the fieldby a roof applicator, it is not essential that this be done. As shown inFIG. 5, the insulation material 48 underlying the selvage edge portion49 of the membrane 50 is separated from the remainder of the insulatingmaterial 52 by a slot 54 which extends completely through the thicknessof the insulation material and terminates at the membrane 50. Thisarrangement insures that the side edge of the insulating material 52,after the insulating portion 48 has been removed, will be straightthroughout and will accurately abut the side edge of an adjacent similarlaminate in a roofing arrangement. If the slot extends completelythrough the insulation material, the bond between the insulation portion48 and the selvage portion 49, that is, between the paper or tape 42 andthe membrane 50, should be such that, while easily separable by hand, ithas sufficient holding power to prevent the insulation portion 48 frombecoming separated before the panel is ready for installation.

The method preferred for manufacturing the laminate of the presentinvention when the insulation material is a foam is illustrated in FIGS.6 and 7. Membrane material 56 is continuously pulled over guide roll 59by power means (not shown) from a roll 58, and the ingredients of thefoam material are deposited on the membrane from a distributor 60.Anti-stick paper 62 is shown being drawn from a roll 64 for the purposeof providing a top cover against which the ingredients can foam duringpassage through the foaming zone 66, where the ingredients are heatedand cured. The anti-stick paper 62 is illustrated as being rewound onroll 68 for later use. The manner of foaming the material against themembrane is illustrative only and any convenient commercialmanufacturing process can be utilized to laminate the foam materialagainst the roof membrane material.

In order to provide that the insulating material adjacent the selvageedge portion of the roof membrane be only weakly adhered to themembrane, a relatively narrow paper or other suitable membrane 70 isdrawn from roll 72 and passes under guide or combining roll 73 where itis adhered to the edge of membrane 56 prior to the deposition of thefoam ingredients on the membrane. As best shown in FIG. 7, the paper 70is applied along the edge portion of the membrane 56 which is to be theselvage edge portion of the laminate, and the paper 70, as well as themembrane 56 is covered by the deposition of ingredients which later foamto make the foamed insulation. As stated previously, the surface of thepaper 70 which engages the membrane 56 is coated with a relatively weakpressure sensitive adhesive which is sufiiciently strong to hold thepaper against the membrane but which permits the paper to be readilyseparated from the membrane merely by pulling them apart by hand. Thefoam ingredients will bond to the paper 70 as well as the membrane 56 sothat subsequently, when the paper 70 is pulled from the membrane 56, thefoam adhering to the paper will be removed from the laminate. At a pointbeyond the curing zone 66 of the foam, the side edges of the laminateare trimmed by knives 74, and an additional knife 76 is provided to slitthe foam substantially in alignment with the inner edge of the paper 70.In order to provide the slight connecting portion 46, illustrated inFIG. 3, between the insulation material underlying the selvage edge andthe remainder of the insulation material, the knife 76 is set so that itdoes not extend down to the membrane 56 but terminates just shortthereof. Should it be desired to provide a slit completely through thethickness of the insulation, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the knife 76would ofcourse be set so that it extended down to the membrane 56without cutting the membrane. While a slit is preferred because it issimple to effect and is highly effiment for its purpose, other means ofsuitably weakening the layer of insulation to permit it to be broken orotherwise separated may be employed.

The dimensions of the laminate produced by the present invention mayvary as desired. A typical laminate may comprise, however, a membrane 25mils thick laminated to foamed insulation of /2 inch thickness, with theselvage edge of the laminate extending beyond the edge of the foam byabout 2 inches.

From the foregoing disclosure it should now be apparent that the presentinvention provides a simple yet effective solution to the problem ofselvage edge damage in a laminated combination roof insulation and roofmembrane member. The laminate can be packaged and shipped either in fiatpanel form or, if it is of a suitable type, it may be rolled intocylindrical form without damaging the selvage edge portion of themembrane since that portion will be supported throughout by theinsulation material.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications f the presentinvention may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. It also is to be understood that the scope of the inventionis not to be interpreted as limited to the specific embodimentsdisclosed herein, but only in accordance with the appended claims, whenread in the light of the foregoing disclosure.

What I claim is:

1. A combination roof insulation and roof membrane laminate comprising:

(a) a first flexible, waterproof membrane having an exposed weathersurface,

(b) a second flexible membrane substantially narrower than the firstmembrane laminated to the other surface of the first membrane along anedge portion thereof,

(c) the bond between the first membrane and the second membrane beingrelatively weak and capable of being broken by hand,

(d) a layer of foamed insulating material laminated to both the firstand second membranes by a relatively strong bond, and

(e) the insulating material being slotted through at least a majorportion of the thickness thereof in a plane transverse to the membranesand substantially in alignment with the edge of the second membraneremote from the edge of the first membrane, whereby removal by hand ofboth the second membrane and the insulation material bonded thereto isfacilitated.

2. A combination roof insulation and roof membrane laminate as recitedin claim 1, wherein the relatively strong bond between the insulatingmaterial and the membrane is a bond created by foaming the insulatingmaterial in place directly against the membrane.

3. A process for manufacturing a combination roof insulation and roofmembrane laminate, comprising the steps of:

(a) laminating a relatively narrow, flexible membrane by a relativelyweak bond to a relatively wide, ficxible, waterproof membrane adjacentone edge portion of the relatively wide membrane,

(b) depositing materials adapted to foam on the ex posed surface of therelatively wide membrane and on the surface of the relatively narrowmembrane,

(c) foaming and curing the materials deposited to form a layer of foamedinsulation laminated by a relatively strong bond to the membranes, and

(d) slitting the layer of insulation, in a plane transverse to themembranes and substantially in alignment with the edge of the relativelynarrow membrane remote from said one edge of the relatively widemembrane, through at least a major portion of the thickness thereof tofacilitate removal by hand of both the relatively narrow membrane andthe insulation material bonded thereto.

4.. A process for manufacturing a combination roof insulation and roofmembrane laminate as recited in claim 3, wherein the insulation materialis slit completely through its thickness, the slit terminating at themembranes.

' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,153,887 4/1939 Greider et a116l117 2,294,347 8/ 1942 Bauer et a1. 16l-146 3,035,957 5/1962 Morgan161406 3,111,787 11/ 1963 Chamberlain. 3,307,306 3/1967 Oliver 161-147MORRIS SUSSMAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

